IMAT Syllabus
the right answer.
GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE
General Knowledge questions
may address a range of
cultural topics, including
aspects of literary, historical,
philosophical, social, and
political culture.
These questions are not based
on any specific part of school
curricula; rather their aim is
to test the candidates’ interest
and knowledge in a wide
variety of fields. Candidates
with a keen extra-curricular
interest in current events and
that regularly keep up to date
with national and
international news will be
better prepared to answer this
type of questions.
With general knowledge
questions candidates may
often know the correct
answer, however they may
sometimes be unsure and may
be tempted to give up and
move on to other questions.
There are actually some
useful strategies that can be
adopted to maximize your
chances to correctly identify
Strategies: Using logical
reasoning or linguistic skills
to identify answers to
questions you do not know
the answer to immediately.
Being well-informed on
major national and
international affairs by
following international news
and being keen readers of
good quality newspapers.
Being aware of the nature of
the world organization.
Topics: General Knowledge
questions can cover topics
ranging from authors and
books to famous personalities,
current affairs, history or
inventions, world geography
and much more. The aim is to
test the students’ knowledge
of the wider world and their
ability to apply logical
reasoning in different
contexts.
The best way to prepare for
such questions is to read
widely, across a range of
different subjects and
maintain an awareness of
current affairs.
LOGICAL
REASONING
The aim of the questions in
this section is to evaluate
candidates’ reasoning skills
and analytic skills, especially
the ability to follow the
logical steps in different
contexts, to recognize
fallacies in the argument, to
solve problems and to discern
relevant from irrelevant
information.
Problem Solving
(Questions that involve
reasoning using numerical
and spatial skills).
Relevant selection: Often a
real-world problem will be
overloaded with information,
much of which is
unimportant. The first step in
solving the problem is to
decide which bits of the
information available are
important. It may be that the
question has presented you
with information which is not
important, perhaps redundant
and possibly distracting. This
kind of question demands
relevant selection, in which
the task is to select only that
information which is
necessary and helpful in
finding a solution and then
applying it.
Finding procedures:
Sometimes you will find that
even when you have selected
all the relevant information,
no obvious solution presents
itself. You then must find a
method or procedure which
you can use to generate a
solution from the information
in the question. Typically,
you will have three or four
numbers which have to be
operated on in some way, or
you will need to perform an
operation a number of times.
Identifying similarity: In
each of these questions you
will be presented with
information and asked to
identify the same information
presented in a different way,
or the question will present a
situation in which different
information has a similar
structure. Many of these
questions can involve spatial
reasoning ability.
Mathematical knowledge
and skills needed: Number
concepts (simples fractions,
place value, ideas about
percentages), numerical
operations (the four rules of
number, percentage
operations, calculations in
everyday contexts, not being
required complex calculations
with fractions and decimals),
quantities (time and the
calendar, money, measures
such as km, m, cm, mm, kg,
g, cm2, m2, cm3, L and
gallon (which is roughly 4 L),
knowledge of the terms for
measurement used informally
such as feet, inches and
miles), space and spatial
reasoning (area, perimeter,
volume, reflections and
rotations of simple shapes,
two-dimensional
representations of three-
dimensional shapes),
generalization (recognition
that some operations are
generalizable) and tables
(extracting information from
tables).
Critical Thinking
(Questions that involve
reasoning using everyday
written language. They focus
on the skills involved in
understanding and evaluating
arguments.)
In an argument, reasons are
put forward as grounds for a
conclusion. The argument is a
good argument provided its
conclusion follows from the
reasons. That is to say, if you
accept the reasons, you must
accept the conclusion.
For the purposes of the
Critical Thinking element, the
reasons given should be
accepted as being true so that
you can focus on the structure
of the reasoning. When you
are reading through the
paragraph, it can be useful to
identify different elements so
that you can see the reasoning
and particularly see the
reasons that lead you to a
conclusion. Identifying the
reasons and the main
conclusion is an important
part of understanding the
structure of an argument.
Example: Jill promised she
would attend the meeting or
send a substitute. We know
she can't attend the meeting.
So we are expecting a
substitute.
Reasons: Jill promised she
would attend the meeting or
send a substitute. We know
she can't attend the meeting.
Conclusion: So we are
expecting a substitute.
In this case, the conclusion
appears at the end of the
argument, and is introduced
by the word "so". Sometimes
a conclusion may
introduced by words such as
"therefore", "thus", "it follows
that". However, sometimes a
conclusion may not contain
any such word. It is also
important to note that a
conclusion may appear at the
beginning of, or in the middle
of, an argument, rather than at
the end.
Some arguments may omit a
crucial stage in the reasoning
- an assumption which must
be made in order for the
conclusion to follow.
Features of arguments:
Reason(s), conclusion(s)
(which may or not be
introduced by words such as
“so” and “therefore”) and
assumption(s) (crucial parts
of the argument that have not
been stated).
Summarizing the main
conclusion: In this type of
question you have to judge
which one of the statements A
to E best expresses the main
conclusion of the argument.
So the first important step is
to read the passage carefully
and pick out the sentence
be
which is the conclusion.
Remember that the
conclusion can appear
anywhere within an argument
– not necessarily at the end.
Remember also that what you
are looking for is the
statement which follows
from, or is supported by, the
rest of the passage.
It may be helpful to ask
yourself: "What is the main
message which this passage is
trying to get me to accept?"
When you think you have
answered this question,
underline the sentence which
expresses this main message,
then look to see if the rest of
the passage gives you reasons
for believing this. Sometimes
a passage may have an
intermediate conclusion
which is just one of the steps
in the reasoning towards the
main conclusion. Be careful
to check this. If the sentence
you have underlined gives
reason to believe some other
statement in the passage, then
it will not be the main
conclusion. Do not worry
about whether the reasons are
true. Just ask yourself: "If
these reasons were true,
would they give me good
reason to accept the sentence
I have underlined?".
Drawing a conclusion: In
this type of question
candidates are asked which
conclusion follows from the
information given. You need
to consider each of the
statements A to E, and to
think about whether the
information in the passage
gives you good reasons to
accept the statement.
Identifying an assumption:
An assumption is something
which is not stated in the
argument, but which is taken
for granted in order to draw
the conclusion. So you need
first to identify the conclusion
of the argument. Then look
for the reasoning it gives to
support this conclusion, and
think about any important
point which is not actually
stated in the reasoning.
Assessing the impact of
additional evidence: This
type of question will typically
ask you to consider what
would weaken or strengthen
an argument. You need first
to be clear about what the
argument is trying to
establish. Work out what the
conclusion is, and then
consider what effect each of
the possible answers would
have on the conclusion.
Detecting reasoning errors:
This type of question asks
you to identify the flaw in the
argument, which means that
you must explain why the
conclusion does not follow
from the reasons which are
given. So you need to be clear
about what the conclusion is,
and what reasons are meant to
support it.
Matching arguments: This
type of question asks you
about similarity between
arguments, but not the sort of
similarity where two
arguments are about the same conclusion. You then need to
topic. The similarity you are consider each possible answer
looking for is in the structure to see which one follows from
or the pattern of the argument. the principle.
Applying principles: When SCIENCES
you are asked which
Biology
statement illustrates the
principle underlying the The chemistry of living
passage, you must first things: The biological
identify this principle. A importance of weak
principle is a general interactions. Organic
recommendation, which, in molecules in organisms and
the passage, will be applied to their respective functions. The
just one particular case, but roles of enzymes.
which could also be applied The cell as the basis of life:
to other cases. For example, Cell theory. Cell size.
someone might use the Prokaryotic and eukaryotic
principle "Killing is wrong" cells, animal, and plant cells.
in order to argue for pacifism, Viruses. The structure and
i.e. for refusing to go to war. function of the cell membrane
If we are to accept the and transport across the
principle that killing is wrong, membrane. Cellular structures
then it also follows that and their specific functions.
capital punishment is wrong, Cell cycle and cell division:
and even that killing in self- mitosis and meiosis.
defence is wrong. In order to Chromosomes and
answer this type of question, chromosome maps.
you first need to understand
the argument, so look for the Bioenergetics: The energy
conclusion, and for the currency of cells: ATP.
reasons, in the usual way. Redox reactions in living
This should enable you to see things. Photosynthesis,
what principle the argument glycolysis, aerobic respiration
relies on in order to draw its and fermentation.
Reproduction and humans and their interactions.
inheritance: Life cycles. Homeostasis.
Sexual and asexual Chemistry
reproduction. Mendelian
genetics: Mendel’s laws and The composition of matter:
their applications. Classical States of matter:
genetics: chromosomal theory heterogeneous and
of inheritance and inheritance homogeneous systems,
patterns. Molecular genetics: compounds, and elements.
structure and replication of Ideal Gas Laws.
DNA, the genetic code, Atomic structure:
protein synthesis. Prokaryotic Elementary particles, atomic
DNA. Eukaryotic number and mass number,
chromosome structure. Genes isotopes, electronic structure
and regulation of gene of atoms of different
expression. elements.
Human genetics: Mono and The periodic table of the
multifactorial character elements: Groups and
transmission, hereditary periods, transition elements.
diseases, autosomal and Periodic properties of
linked to chromosome X. elements: atomic radius,
Biotechnology: recombinant ionization potential, electron
DNA technology and its affinity, metallic character.
applications. The relationships between
Inheritance and electronic structure, position
environment: Mutations. in the periodic table, and
Natural and artificial element properties.
selection. Evolutionary The chemical bond: Ionic,
theories. The genetic basis of covalent, and metallic bonds.
evolution. Binding energy. Polarity of
Anatomy and physiology of bonds. Electronegativity.
animals and humans: The Intermolecular bonds.
animal tissues. Anatomy and
physiology of systems in
Fundamentals of inorganic carbon atoms, and crude
chemistry: Nomenclature and formulas of structure., the
main properties of inorganic concept of isomerism.
compounds: oxides, Aliphatic, alicyclic, and
hydroxides, m acids, salts. aromatic hydrocarbons.
Functional groups: alcohols,
Chemical reactions and
ethers, amines, aldehydes,
stoichiometry: Atomic and
ketones, carboxylic acids,
molecular mass, Avogadro’s
esters, amides. Chemical
number, mole concept and its
nomenclature.
application, elementary
stoichiometry calculations, Mathematics
balancing simple reactions, Algebra and numerical sets:
different types of chemical Natural numbers, integers,
reaction. rational and real numbers.
Solutions: Solvent properties Sorting and comparison:
of water, solubility, the main scales and scientific notation.
ways of expressing the Operations and their
concentration of solutions. properties. Proportions and
Equilibria in aqueous percentages. Powers with
solution. Chemical kinetics integer and rational
and catalysis. exponents, and their
properties. Roots and their
Oxidation and reduction:
properties. Logarithms (base
Oxidation number, concept of
10 and base e) and their
oxidizing and reducing.
properties. Elements of
Balancing of simple reactions.
combinatorics. Algebraic and
Acids and bases: The polynomial expressions.
concept of acid and base. Major products and nth power
Acidity, neutrality, and of binomial expansions,
basicity of aqueous solutions. factorization of polynomials.
The pH scale. Hydrolysis. Algebraic fractions. Algebraic
Buffer solutions. equations and inequalities of
Fundamentals of organic the first and second order.
chemistry: Bounds between Systems of equations.
Functions: Basic concepts of the parabola, the hyperbola,
functions and their graphical the ellipse, and their
representations (domain, representation in the
codomain, sign, maximum Cartesian plane. Pythagoras’
and minimum, increasing and theorem. Euclid’s first and
decreasing, etc.). Elementary second theorems.
functions: whole and Probability and statistics:
fractional algebraic functions, Frequency distributions and
exponential, logarithmic, and their graphical
trigonometric functions. representations. Concept of
Composite and inverse random experiments and
functions. Trigonometric events. Probability, and
equations and inequalities. frequency.
Geometry: Polygons and Physics
their properties. Circle and
circumference. Measurements Measures: Direct and
of lengths, surfaces, and indirect measures,
volumes. Isometries, fundamental and derived
similarities, and equivalences quantities, physical
in the plane. Geometric loci. dimensions of quantities,
Measurement of angles in knowledge of the metric
degrees and radians. Sine, system and the CGS System
cosine, tangent of an angle of Units, Technical (or
and their significant values. practical) (ST) and
Trigonometric formulas. International System (SI)
Solving triangles. Cartesian units of measurement (names
reference system in a plane. and relationships between
Distance between two points fundamental and derived
and the midpoint of a units), multiples and sub-
segment. Straight line multiples (names and values).
equation. Conditions for Kinematics: Kinematic
parallel and perpendicular quantities, various types of
lines. Distance of a point to a motion with particular regard
line. Equation of the circle, to uniform and uniformly
accelerating rectilinear state and latent heats. Ideal
motion, uniform circular Gas Laws. First and second
motion, harmonic motion (for laws of thermodynamics.
all motions: definitions and Electrostatic and
relationships between electrodynamics: Coulomb’s
quantities). law. Electric field and
Dynamics: Vectors and potential. Dieletric constant.
vector operations. Forces, Capacitors. Capacitors in
moments of forces about a series and in parallel. Direct
point. Moment of a force current. Ohm’s Law.
couple. Vector composition of Kirchhoff’s Principles.
forces. Definitions of mass Electrical resistance and
and weight. Acceleration due resistivity, electrical
to gravity. Density and resistances in series and in
specific gravity. The law of parallel. Work, Power, Joule
universal gravitation, 1st, 2nd effect. Generators.
and 3rd laws of motion. Work, Electromagnetic induction
kinetic energy, potential and alternating currents.
energy. Principle of Effects of electrical currents
conservation of energy. (thermal, chemical and
Impulse and momentum. magnetic).
Principle of conservation of
momentum.
Fluid mechanics: Pressure,
and its unit of measure (not
only in the SI system).
Archimedes’ Principle.
Pascal’s principle. Stevino’s
law.
Thermodynamics:
Thermometry and
calorimetry. Specific heat,
heat capacity. Mechanisms of
heat propagation. Changes od